More than half of Scottish households claim to be ‘managing well’ financially

That compared to 42 per cent in 1999 - while the proportion of households who don’t manage well fell from 13 per cent to 8 per cent.

Over the same time, the total number of households in Scotland increased by 13 per cent from 2.19 million households in 1999 to 2.46 million households in 2017

The Scottish Household Survey (SHS) 2017 also found 51 per cent of women were in work, compared to 45 per cent in 1999.

The past decade has also seen the proportion of men in work remained steady at 60 per cent.

Meanwhile, concern about climate change is at a record high.

The annual survey found that 61 per cent of people believe that climate change is an immediate and urgent problem – an increase of 6 percentage points in a single year – and just 7 per cent think climate change will only affect other countries.

The biggest growth in concern is among young people aged 16-24, increasing by more than half between 2013 and 2017.

Figures also paint a positive picture for Scotland’s communities, with 95 per cent of adults rating their neighbourhood as a good place to live and 78 per cent say they have a strong sense of belonging.

Responding to the results deputy first minister John Swinney. said: “Climate change is one of the biggest issues of our time and it is clearly at the forefront of people’s minds. Tackling this global threat is one of the Scottish Government’s top priorities and our new Climate Change Bill means net-zero emissions of carbon dioxide by 2050 – in other words Scotland will be carbon neutral.

“The Scottish Household Survey is a unique opportunity for people to share their views and experiences and help government to understand the issues affecting communities.

“This year’s results show that many people are managing well financially and the majority are happy with their neighbourhoods and local services but we can see that inequalities remain. We are working to reduce poverty and social exclusion through a range of actions across government including investing £125 million this year alone to mitigate the very worst effects of UK Government welfare cuts and protect those on low incomes. These findings will help us continue to make decisions to shape a fair and inclusive Scotland for everyone.”